Avocado Varieties for Florida

Leo B. Scott.

Since the fall of 1915 one part of the

subtropical production project of the

office of Horticultural and Pomological

Investigations of the United States De

partment of Agriculture has dealt with the

study of the comparative merits of avo

cado varieties, both in Florida and Cali

fornia. Reports from time to time on the

progress of these investigations have ap

peared in the. annual reports of the Cali

fornia Avocado Association, and have

been reprinted in The Florida Grower.

The freeze of February, 1917, in Flor

ida, the cold weather experienced this last

winter, and the excessive heat in June,

1917, in California, have all had their

effect in retarding new plantings of avo

cados. However, there is in both States

a decided interest in avocado growing,

and considerable information has already

been secured concerning the frost and

heat resisting qualities of the. different

varieties.

The avocado has often been described

as the perfect salad fruit. Prior to the

world conflict in which we are now en

gaged the search for fruits or vegetables

which might be utilized in salads was of

considerable importance. At the present

time, howeyer, the whole country is more

interested in securing essential foods. The

avocado fills a dual role in this respect, in

that, although it is a salad fruit, it also is

a meat substitute. Many of the varieties,

particularly those which are. found in the

Guatemalan race, have a very high oil

content. In some varieties this oil con

tent runs as high as twenty-five to thirty

per cent. It can readily be see.n that a

fruit as rich as this has distinct possibili

ties as a meat substitute.

In any discussion of the avocado, it

must be clearly borne in mind that while

the commercial industry, both in Florida

and California at the present time only

represents a limited acreage, nevertheless

a great number of varieties have been in

troduced into the United States. At the

October, 1916, meeting of the California

Avocado Association, held in San Diego,

California, Professor I. J. Condit, of the

University of California, presented a list

of 146 named varieties of this fruit.

Some of these varieties belong to the

Mexican race, others to the West Indian,

but probably the greater number were of

the Guatemalan.

The West Indian race is the one which

you are most familiar with in Florida. It

includes the Florida seedling avocados,

the seedling trees found in the West In

dies, and some of your standard budded

varieties, such as Trapp, Pollock and

Walden. Characteristics of this race in

FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY

brief are. a fruit with a leathery, pliable

skin, and a tree of almost tropical ten

dency, in that the foliage is injured at

temperatures lower than 30° F.

The Mexican race, on the other hand,

is quite, hardy, and often will withstand

temperatures as low as 25 ° F., and even

lower, without serious injury. Most of

the fruits of the Mexican varieties are

small, thin-skinned, and many of them

contain a considerable amount of fibre.

The fruits have a very high oil content,

and the leaves have a distinct anise odor.

Although the fruits of most of the Mexi

can varieties are small, a few have been

introduced which bear quite large fruits.

A seedling Mexican tree growing in the

Plant Introduction Garden at Miami

bears a fruit which weighs considerably

over a pound.

The Guatemalan race bears a fruit

which has a very thick skin and distinct

hard shell. The fruits as a rule show no

fibre, or only a slight trace, have a very

high oil content, and possess a rich, nutty

flavor. Guatemalan varieties are not as

hardy as those of the Mexican race, but

some of them can stand temperatures of

270 or 260 F. without serious injury.

The ideal avocado, as described by

hotel men and those engaged in the fancy

fruit trade, is one which weighs a pound

or a pound and a half, has a small seed, is

free from fibre, rich in oil, and a fruit

which can be served in the half shell..

Although there have been a great number

of varieties introduced in this country,

very few of them bear fruits which meet

all the requirements of the ideal avocado.

During the season of 1916 and 1917, in

co-operation with the California Avocado

Association, we conducted investigations

in all the avocado orchards in that State.

Performance records were secured of

practically all the bearing trees in Cali

fornia. In addition to the actual records

on the amount and quality of the fruit

produced by the individual trees, analyses

were, made by Mr. E. M. Chace, Bureau

of Chemistry, United States Department

of Agriculture, of many of the varieties.

Notes were made of the frost resistance

and he.at resistance of the different kinds.

Partially as a result of these investiga

tions, and other independent investiga

tions by the growers and investigators of

the University of California, a special

committee on classification and registra

tion of varieties, of tb* California Avo

cado Association, on Oct. 25, 1917, issued

Circular No. 1 of that Association, in

which they recommended eight varieties

for planting in that State. These varie

ties are Fuerte, Spinks, Blakeman, Lyon,

Dickinson, Taft, Sharpless and Puebla,

which, in the opinion of the committee,

were those which seemed the most prom

ising for California conditions. Some

of these, in addition, look very promising

for Florida.

The Fuerte is a pyriform fruit, green

colored, weighing 12 to 14 ounces, the

seed weighing iy2 ounces. The highest

oil content given for the Fuerte is 30.72

per cent. Its season in California is from

January to August. Budded trees in that

State come into bearing the second year.

A performance record of all the three-

year-old budded Fuerte trees in the or

chard of Mr. J. T. Whedon, Yorba Linda,

42 FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY

California, showed a range in production

of from i to 86 fruits. In June of the

same year those trees were subjected to

temperatures ranging as high as no° to

H2° F. This heat wave lasted four days.

This year the trees, although not bearing

quite as large a crop as in 1917, are pro

ducing quite a number of fruits.

While it would not be safe to assume

that the varieties recommended for Cali

fornia could all be introduced into Florida

and prove equally good here, the action of

the California people, however, does give

the Florida growers a little definite, infor

mation to use as a starting point.

I will review briefly the general charac

teristics of the other California varieties,

as they may be. of some interest to the

Florida growers.

The Spinks is another spring and sum

mer fruit. The original budded trees of

this variety are owned by Mr. W. A.

Spinks, of Duate, California. The orig

inal seedling tree, probably is growing a

short distance from Mr. Spinks' place.

Budded trees, however, fruited several

years before, the seedling. Mr. Spinks

had secured buds from many seedling

trees in California prior to the freeze in

January, 1913. The two budded trees of

this variety, which at that time were not

named, in his opinion withstood the cold

as well, or better,, than any other varieties

in his nursery. As a result, he propagated

from this variety before it fruited. When

it came into fruit he was so greatly im

pressed with the merits of this avocado

that he used the name Spinks in referring

to it. The fruits weigh considerably over

a pound, are obovate or pyriform in

shape, with a purplish black color. The

average weight is 16 to 20 ounces. The

seeds weigh about 3% ounces. The per

centage of oil in the Spinks is 15% or

16%.

Another summer variety is the Blake-

man. The. original tree of this variety is

a seedling owned by Mr. Edward W.

Dickey, El Cerrite Drive, Hollywood,

California. The fruit is pyriform in

shape, green colored, season April to Au

gust, average weight 16 ounces, average

weight of seed 2,y2 ounces, percentage of

oil 17.

One possible objection to the Blake-

man is that it belongs to the. Murietta

strain of trees; that is, it is one of the

seedling varieties introduced by a Mr.

Murietta, of Los Angeles, California, a

number of years ago. All the other vari

eties of this introduction appear to be

very weak growers. The Blakeman in a

few instances has shown this same ten

dency.

Another spring and summer variety

recommended for California is the Lyon.

The. Lyon is a peculiar variety, in that it

has a very upright habit of growth and

does not show any inclination to spread.

For this reason it is especially recom

mended in that State for use as a filler,

being planted between other standard

varieties. As the trees come into fruiting

very early, the Lyon can be left in the

orchard for six of seven years, and then

be removed when the other trees begin to

crowd them. The fruit is pyriform, of

dark green color, about the same size as

the Spinks or Blakeman. It weighs about

a pound, the seed weighing two to three

FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 43

ounces. The oil content is about 16%.

The Dickinson and Taft are summer

and fall varieties. Their season approxi

mately is from June, to October. The

Dickinson is a small fruit, only weighing

12 ounces. They are. obovate in shape,

purplish black in color, the seed weighing

a little over an ounce. The percentage of

oil is quite high, analyzing about 20%.

The Taft is a native California seed

ling, originating at the place of C. P.

Taft, Orange, California. It bears a

fruit which is green in color and obovate

to pyriform in shape. The fruits weigh

about one pound and the seed about three

ounces. The percentage of oil runs from

15% to 17%.

One of the most interesting varieties

in California is the Sharpless. Its season

is usually given from October to Fe.bru-

ary. The original tree is owned by B. H.

Sharpless, Santa Anna, California, and

first fruited in 1912, bearing two fruits

that year, twenty in 1913, seventy-five in

1914, 250 in 1915 and over 600 in 1916

and 1917. The fruits average 20 to 22

ounces in weight, are pear-shaped, and

when matured are a beautiful dark pur

plish maroon color. The, seed weighs

about three ounces and the. oil content

averages 24%.

The last one of the eight varieties rec

ommended, the Puebla, is a winter vari

ety. The only objection to the Puebla is

the small size of the fruit, as they only

weigh 8 to 10 ounces. It has a distinct

place, however, in home plantings, as it is

the hardiest of the eight varieties. In ad

dition, the fruit has a very high oil con

tent, running to 25% or 26%. As it is

comparatively free from fibre, it is a very

desirable fruit in home planting.

In co-operation with interested avocado

growers in several parts of Florida, bud-

wood of some, of these standard Califor

nia varieties, as well as others which were

rejected as not suited to California condi

tions, have been introduced in this State.

These varieties have been placed on the

three stocks, Guatemalan, We.st Indian

and Mexican, in an attempt to find out if

they were suited to Florida conditions,

and also which stock was the best suited

to the different sections of the State. In

California the only stock used for avo

cado varieties is the hardy Mexican. Up

to date in Florida the only stock used to

any extent has been the very tender West

Indian. By means of these experiments

it is hoped to find out whether the. thick-

skinned varieties will do as well on West

Indian stock as on Guatemalan, or the

hardy Mexican. The question of most

interest to avocado growers, or to pros

pective growers, in Florida, is what varie

ties ought to be planted in this State,

Any recommendations concerning varie

ties made by me today must be looked

upon really as suggestions, and may be

subject to change even within a year.

In sections where cold injury is only

experienced at infrequent intervals, the

standard avocado variety, and the one

which has made the. reputation of the

Florida avocado industry, is the Trapp.

This is a fall fruit, and although lacking

in some of the characteristics, which

would rank it an ideal avocado, it never

theless has become established on the

fruit markets, and is known to the trade.

FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY

The season of the Trapp is late fall. It

has the decided objection of having a

large seed, and quite a low oil content.

For these reasons it is probable, that other

varieties eventually will be found which

will supplant the Trapp as a fall fruit.

Another very promising variety of the

West Indian race is the Walden. Its sea

son is somewhat later than the Trapp;

fruits can be left on the trees as late as

Christmas, or possibly a little longer.

During the past winter considerable in

formation has been secured in a number

of sections of Florida on the frost-resist

ing powers of the different varieties.

Of the Guatemalan thick-skinned vari

eties, the Fuerte, Taylor, Perfecto and

Taft probably look the most promising at

the present time for your conditions. The

Fuerte withstood temperatures of 260 F.

this last winter in Homestead sections

without serious injury to the foliage, and

in addition held most of the fruit. The

Taylor seemed even more resistant than

the Fuerte. The Perfecto and Taft

ranged next in order of hardiness. The

Taft, from all reports, seems even hardier

in Florida than in California. The Tay

lor is a Florida seedling. The seed came

from California. About 1908 Mr. J. W.

Walker, of 1547 Los Palmas avenue, Los

Angeles, California, had two seedling

avocado trees in his yard which bore fruit

for the first time that year. These trees

afterwards camcto be known as the Chal

lenge and Royal. He sent fruits from

these, trees into the Department of Agri

culture to Dr. Taylor, now chief of the

Bureau of Plant Industry, who was then

in charge of field investigations in pomol

ogy. After making descriptions of the

fruits, Dr. Taylor gave the seeds to the

office, of Foreign Seed and Plant Intro

duction. They were sent to the plant in

troduction garden at Miami, but no record

was kept of the fruit from which each

seed came. One of the trees grew, and

when it fruited it was named "Taylor," as

the seed had been secured from Dr. Tay

lor in Washington. The. fruit is pyri-

form, and in this respect it resembles the

Royal. It is gre.en colored, however, and

in this respect is similar to the Challenge.

It does not possess as much fibre as either

one of those varieties. From limited ob

servations which have, been made of the

behavior of this variety in Florida, it

would appear to be superior to either the

Challenge or Royal of California. The

fruit weighs considerably over a pound,

has a relatively small seed, and has an oil

content which apparently is comparable

with the Spinks.

A number of varieties have been intro

duced in Florida which have been dis

carded in California. Many of the.se

varieties are showing the same undesir

able characteristics here in this State. It

would, therefore, seem that the. growers

should hesitate in planting them.

As previously mentioned, all the Mexi

can varieties are too small to be given any

consideration as commercial possibilities,

with the possible exception of the one

growing at the Plant Introduction Gar

den at Miami. Howeyer, the fruits

of that variety have the serious draw

back of producing seeds which are

loose in the cavity.

Of the other thick-skinned varieties,

FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 45

trees of the Colorado, Dickey, Presidente,

Murietta Green and Royal, make a very

sickly growth, and if they are left to

grow, produce one or two crops,* then die.

Although only a few of these varieties

have fruited in Forida, young trees which

fruited in Florida, young trees which

have been introduced in most cases seem

to show these same characteristics. It

would, therefore, see.m that the grower is

taking a big chance if he includes any of

these varieties in his planting.

The Solano has a very low oil content,

and the trees are. quite tender. This vari

ety has shown these characteristics in

Florida this last winter.

The Grande in Florida has developed,

as in California, the same black decay in

the fruit and shows considerable fibre.

The Wagner and Walker are small fruits,

and as they mature in California during

the summer months, they are in competi

tion with larger and better varieties. Re-

gardless of what their season might be in

Florida, there would be this same compe

tition with larger fruits, so we do not be-

lieye these varieties should be considered.

The Lambert and Barclay avocados in

California have a tendency to split. These

varieties have not yet fruited in Florida,

but if this trait is repeated here, it will

throw them out of consideration. Miller,

Meserve and Ferry in California are all

shy bearers. I do not know whether the

Miller and Ferry have been introduced in

this State., but the Meserve appeared to be

very tender this past winter. The Knight

•varieties in the Homestead section ap

peared to be more tender than the. same

kinds when grown in California. This

may possibly have been due to the fact

that some of the trees were, not in a very

vigorous growing condition, as at Lu

cerne Park. There some varieties came

through in good shape.

While it must not be assumed that ne,w

varieties will not be introduced which

will prove superior to existing ones, still

the man who intends to invest consider

able capital in an avocado planting cannot

afford to experiment with new and un

tried sorts.

Mr. Wilson Popence, of the office of

Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction, has

just brought back from Guatemala a num

ber of varieties of Guatemalan or thick-

skinned avocados. These will be. tried

out experimentally in Florida and Cali

fornia. However, it will be several years

before any definite information concern

ing these varieties can be secured, and it

certainly would not be safe to plant them

in commercial orchards until they had

fruited for at least two years, and they

had been found to be far superior to exist

ing standard kinds.

In order to protect the. development of

the avocado industry, and not to duplicate

the experience of the California people,

where it was necessary for them to weed

out many varieties which never should

have been introduced in commercial or

chards, there should be some, central

agency of the avocado growers in this

State which should have the final voice in

the question of varieties. In California

the growers have an avocado association,

and in this association there is a special

registration committee, which, in co-oper

ation with the government and State offi-

FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY

cials, pass on the respective merits of the

varieties. In this State you have no avo

cado association. You have, however, in

your Horticultural Society a standing

committee on avocados. Why, then, can

not this committee act as a registration

board and advise, the growers concerning

the proper varieties to plant? At the

present time the varieties which are the

most promising are the Trapp for a fall

fruit in the warmer sections, and the

Fuerte, Taylor and probably Taft for sec

tions where the temperatures may fall to

280 F.

Bureau of Plant Industry, Washington,

D. C